Pete Sommerville

A few weeks ago students on a LEARNZ field trip were backstage at an opera; last week they were in the Wellington Mayor’s office talking Smart Motorways. Next week they’ll be searching for kea nests in the Southern Alps. All LEARNZ field trips are journeys to the unfamiliar.

Travelling to Antarctica is another step-up in unfamiliarity. Inside Scott Base life is mostly familiar; but outside presents a new normal. It’s common to see people walking and skiing at one o’clock in the morning. For students and us, it’s a new frame of reference.

Right now Shelley and I are preparing for an Antarctic science virtual field trip. Students on this trip will join a NIWA science team trying to find out why sea ice in Antarctica is increasing while it is disappearing in the Arctic.

Mt Erebus in the far distance from Hut Point Peninsula, framed by the Ross Ice Shelf on the far right, and sea ice on McMurdo Sound on the far left.

An opportunity to learn about frames of reference

In guiding student learning to prepare for this virtual journey, we are exploring ideas around frames of reference. The things that make us what and who we are and give us our point of view define our frame of reference. Our reality. One person’s reality may be very different from another.

Two people stand facing each other on either side of a street. A car drives past. One person sees the car moving to the right. The other person sees the car moving to the left. Two different frames of reference; two different observations. Our frame of reference determines how we see and understand the world. It’s influenced by our geographic location, who we live with, our beliefs, our education, our culture.

Our frame of reference can limit our ability to understand issues and to think critically. Part of a picture only tells part of a story; what you see is not always what you get.

Growing up in the 60s and 70s

Our local stream was a quick five-minute ride from home. In these pre-mountain bike days our 3 speeds made the rough track to the bridge hugely exciting. The stream was a wilderness of old willows, a shifting riverbed and a busy road bridge. For much of my early adolescence I played, swam, camped, cooked over fires, fished, fought and generally mucked about in this wilderness. My parents, mostly unaware of what we were up to, didn’t care – provided we were home for tea.

That was growing up in the sixties and seventies. A free-range childhood. We didn’t know about stranger danger, endangered species, ozone depletion or climate change. We did know every nook and cranny of that streambed.

Growing up today — it’s different

Today our children have different experiences. They spend more time IndoorsThey do more organised sport in human-created environments of asphalt and turf. Our children are well informed about the decline of natural values; our ever-increasing list of endangered species and habitats at risk. Nature has become a doom and gloom story.

Nature-deficit an alarming trend

Author Richard Louv in his book Last Child in the Woods explores the divide between children and the outdoors. He calls the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation, nature-deficit. He attributes nature-deficit to some of the most disturbing childhood trends such as the rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

It is true that for all of human history children have spent much of their time outside either playing or being in nature. It is part of what and who we are – we’re genetically wired to need nature. Louv argues that treasured moments of wonder in nature, such as discovering what exists on the underside of a rock or hearing the wind in the leaves, are a rich source of spiritual growth.

While better informed, our children are being put off nature

In recent years I have taken interest in this so-called nature deficit disorder. I’ve wondered about what it is to be a Kiwi; the relationship we have with our natural heritage; what we think about 100% Pure; and what the separation of a large proportion of our children from the natural world will mean for New Zealand and Planet Earth.

Our students are arguably better informed about their global environment than ever before. Their awareness of the natural world is largely through television and the Internet; their awareness more an abstraction than a personal reality. The message delivered inadvertently through schools and the media is that the outdoors is dangerous. Regulations and expectations of safety make playgrounds too safe. There is little room for creativity and expression. Our children’s environment is increasingly de-natured and their perceptions of the natural world are devoid of personal experiences.

What does this mean for the likes of virtual field trips? The answer is surprising.

So perhaps you’re thinking this is all a bit rich coming from the Project Director of a virtual field trip programme? Well it could be if student involvement in virtual field trips (VFTs) resulted in less time spent outdoors. The evidence suggests otherwise. Teachers are telling us that students are inspired during VFTs by getting to know people who work in the outdoors. They are motivated to learn more about conservation and want to get involved. The student experience with environmental VFTs is creating a desire to get out and do stuff in the outdoors.

Look at some of the feedback we’ve received:

The children were enthralled by this trip. They all want to go and walk the Routeburn for real now! A great way to 'hook' the children in. So interactive and 'real'.
– Joanne Mortimer from Weston School

Students found it very engaging and enjoyed being able to go on the LEARNZ website at home as well. One student and their family is now going to go and walk the Routeburn Track next school holidays.
– Te Whaea Ireland from Karoro School

They developed their knowledge of pest threats in NZ and also developed a positive attitude to how they can help with campaigns like Project Crimson & Living Legends. LEARNZ is an excellent programme.
– Philip Lightbourne from Kairanga School

The biggest benefit was being able to relate to it on a personal level and also to be able to follow up on it in our local community.
– Jane Pearson from Hira School

My students enjoyed it and learnt so much. They were inspired and did their own projects on kauri dieback.
– Julia Kippen from St Mark's School (Pakuranga

LEARNZ is wonderful for those students who learn in different ways e.g. listening (and they can refer back to recordings to check information). We are now interested in "adopting" a local reserve and planting some natives, including kauri.
– Debra Sheeran from Pukenui School

We also followed up with a visit in our local area to a native bush stand.
– Vicki Karetai from Brooklyn School Motueka

We are now going to visit the local bush and observe our trees.
– Sharlene Tornquist from Kaiwaka School

Virtual field trips could be a vehicle for a real-life appreciation of nature

The evidence is that LEARNZ VFTs have the capability to motivate large numbers of students. So what if we placed more emphasis on action outcomes from our VFTs? What if we partnered with organisations that could broker relationships between schools and local environmental projects? What if virtual field trips became a platform for energising and mobilising the imagination and spirit of young people? And what if there was a campaign to soak up that energy where young people could get involved with nature.

Your comments welcome

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts about nature deficit. How can we restore that age-old relationship between people and the planet? If you've seen your students inspired by a LEARNZ field trip, what were the outcomes? How might we organise ourselves to harness that inspiration and get kids outdoors?

Recently, I was given opportunity to reflect on the success of New Zealand’s education system. Why, for example, we are one of just five countries who have, since 2000, always been above the PISA OECD average. Given that education systems are influenced by political, economic, and cultural contexts, what is it that makes our system so special?

LEARNZ was envisioned in the back of a Hagglunds all-terrain vehicle, in the awe-inspiring environment of the Antarctic, back in 1995. Rather than a one-off opportunity for a few New Zealand schools, this idea clearly had legs. The concept rapidly evolved over the next decade, and with support from many organisations became a popular feature of the national Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) landscape. Along with that came international recognition.

In January 2006 the LEARNZ team received a visitor from Germany. She worked in the area of education for sustainable development (ESD) for a large public water board. The meeting went well, and she returned home determined, with our help, to develop a programme based broadly on the LEARNZ model. Despite positive email exchanges over several months, other priorities and, “too many restrictions, lack of visionary leadership, lack of infrastructure and resources in schools”, the programme got scuppered before it began. The connection with our German colleague fell silent.

A couple of weeks ago, and seven and a half years later, the connection was re-established. The desire to establish a German virtual field trip programme was as strong as ever. “How can we inform/educate a broad range of students and schools about water issues, and how can we overcome our restricted possibilities for schools/students to visit our wastewater treatment plants, pump stations, and other facilities?” But first, she wanted to know how 18 years ago we did what they want to do now: start from scratch with an idea no-one really understands.

I recalled our challenges in the 1990s: few teachers with laptops, access to internet patchy, a lack of infrastructure and support. And, how did we recruit experienced teachers to lead field trips while German teachers are too reticent to compromise teaching careers, state sector benefits, and relatively high salaries?

I’m proud of what LEARNZ has achieved over 18 years. We’ve been welcomed into thousands of classrooms during 191 virtual field trip events to team-teach with classroom teachers, engage students with remote locations, and establish meaningful relationships between students and experts. Perhaps, as Victor Hugo said, “All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come”. LEARNZ was a product of its time. That time was the Tomorrow’s Schools era. Before 1989, decision makers were far removed from the consequences of their choices to see whether their policies were improving educational outcomes. In 1989 central bureaucracy was shredded, and those with the greatest stake in outcomes—parents—given greater say. The reforms have followed a troubled journey, as you’d expect—everyone is an expert on education. The democratic process has been messy and expensive. Nevertheless, the shift in bureaucratic function from directing activities to monitoring outcomes still separates New Zealand from many overseas education systems.

LEARNZ, today, is a leading e-learning experience, making the most of ultra-fast broadband, affirmed by continuing support from the Ministry of Education and many other lead sponsors.

So, how did we in 1995 do what this German water utility company wants to do in 2013. We just did it. And that’s the point. The NZ Inc version of education has created an environment that not only allows innovation, but expects it. That’s pretty cool, eh?